Saturday, August 06, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JANE ANN MORRISON: Death shows need for change on Red Rock's once-tranquil Highway 159

When a scenic route becomes known as a scene of carnage, something is wrong.

Next time you pass Mile Marker 9 on Highway 159, think about the death of Las Vegas police officer Don Albietz, a 45-year-old physical fitness enthusiast enjoying a morning bike ride through the Red Rock National Conservation Area on July 20, until a tractor-trailer plowed into him from behind.

He died July 28.

Authorities identified the driver of the truck as Michael Reich. If they're right, all you need to know about this dirtbag's character is that he stopped, then fled to his home in Pahrump without doing a thing to help Albietz. Later, Reich was arrested, and a slew of charges have been filed against him.

The funeral for Albietz, a police officer for 25 years, will be at 4 p.m. today at Palm Mortuary downtown on Main Street. His widow, Minta, and their 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son will hear words of praise and receive hugs meant to comfort.

"Don Albietz was a model officer who did his work and didn't back down from anybody," said retired Sgt. Ron Swift, a former boss.

Detective Eric Roberson said Albietz was such a good cyclist that he could have competed professionally, but it would have meant too much time away from his family. "Kids are only kids once," Albietz once told Roberson, explaining his decision not to turn pro.

"He was totally devoted to our children and to other people's children as well," Minta Albietz said Thursday, describing how her husband coached football, baseball and soccer.

She values a letter of thanks from a man whose daughter ran her car off the road on Highway 159. "Don stayed with her. He was kind but also had a firm message to the daughter about how dangerous the highway was," Minta said. "He made her feel safe until her mom and dad could get there."

Minta met Don in Fort Worth, Texas, when she was a graduate student and he was a police officer. "He was a very kind and patient man with quiet and gentle strength. He never swore, he was always a gentleman and he wasn't a cowboy cop."

They dated for four years, and when she was recruited by Sunrise Hospital to open a children's hospital here, he followed her to Las Vegas and was hired by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 1991.

Three years ago they moved to Blue Diamond, where he was the resident officer. "At first, everyone was very nervous about a police officer moving here. You move here because you have a little different drum in you, and they were nervous about The Man living here," Minta said.

But the people of Blue Diamond accepted him, and he loved the Red Rock Canyon area, one of the most serene and beautiful spots close to noisy, boisterous Las Vegas.

However, for truckers and commuters between Las Vegas and Pahrump, the two-lane, curving, winding, supposedly scenic highway is a shortcut and a speedway.

The road used to have a 45 mph limit, but a few years ago, after improvements were made, it was upped to 60. However, vehicles traveling at 70, even 80, are commonplace. On weekend mornings, motorcyclists use the curvy road for street racing. "Don has clocked them going 120 miles an hour," Minta said.

Burros and wild horses are roadkill along Highway 159. Cyclists can only hope and pray that drivers don't hit them, but Albietz's death might speed up plans for safety improvements.

On Aug. 31, the Red Rock Citizens Advisory Committee will play host to a public meeting at 7 p.m. at the Blue Diamond Library to talk about potential improvements for the scenic highway. There's $400,000 available to spend on improvements, and the Nevada Department of Transportation wants specific proposals at this meeting to help in the decision process.

Meanwhile, the county has proposed a recreation trail that would parallel the highway without being adjacent, but that's two or three years away.

If solutions aren't found to protect the scenic area from encroaching growth, then bloodstains on the road will increase as sorrowful reminders of the lost treasure of tranquility that once was Red Rock Canyon.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at jane@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0275.